Medical Marijuana in the Workplace

Employers of all industries need to be informed on the latest rules and regulations of drug screening in the workplace. John Mallios, Senior Vice-President, Drug & Health Screening at Sterling shares his insight for HR professionals.

Recognizing that impaired transportation workers represented a significant threat to public safety, the United States Congress passed the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act in 1991 (OTETA) following deadly accidents that had occurred.  Public and private employers in transportation-related industries, such as railroad, aviation, trucking, mass transit, and others were now required to implement workplace testing programs to test their job candidates and employees who would perform specific work functions deemed “safety-sensitive” for the most abused substances of the time, including alcohol and marijuana.

In the early 1990s, many in the United States were unfamiliar with the “medical marijuana” term. The predominant sentiment then was that marijuana was a simple alternative to alcohol. The difference between the two, however, was that adults could legally purchase, possess, and use alcohol.  Not so with marijuana, which was classified two decades earlier as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, holding the substance to be devoid of any valid medical purpose and having a high propensity for abuse.  Hence, illegal to purchase, possess or use marijuana.

Unfortunately, substance abuse continues to be an extremely important social issue, and American employers with safety and financial interests in mind have zero-tolerance policies in place to ensure substance abuse is kept away from their workplaces.  In fact, workplace drug testing positivity rate is at its highest levels since 2004, and the positivity rate for marijuana has increased nearly 17% since 2014.  For federally-mandated drug testing, marijuana positivity has increased nearly 24% since 2014. Particularly since 2012 when Colorado introduced the first recreational use laws, marijuana decriminalization has certainly ushered in new and complex challenges for employers who require drug testing of their job candidates and employees.
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